One of our founding values is stewardship of natural and material resources.

More than 35 percent of the overall waste stream from Mayo Clinic's Rochester, Minnesota, campus is recycled. Each year, the Rochester campus diverts approximately 1.5 million pounds of food waste from the waste stream. A portion of Mayo Clinic's municipal solid waste is disposed of at the Olmsted County Waste-to-Energy Facility and helps generate energy for the community.

Mayo Clinic's campus in Rochester uses reusable waste containers for sharps, glass and hazardous medication waste. This practice prevents the disposal of approximately 380,000 pounds of plastic each year.

Sustainability and green initiatives have changed the way we look at every project. As we work to conserve resources, recycle materials and reduce waste, everything we do incorporates green thinking.

Mayo Clinic, in partnership with the Rochester YMCA, offers LIVESTRONG, a free, 12-week program to help ease cancer survivors back into fitness and to increase and maintain confidence. Cancer survivors know the tremendous toll the disease and its treatment can have on mind, body and spirit. This innovative program helps people begin to heal and reclaim their health. Physical activities are tailored to match participants with what they are able to accomplish. Important relationships are built with empathy. Strong connections are made among cancer survivors and their families.

Mayo Clinic supports a number of educational programs with schools and partnering organizations to advance student achievement in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), as well as diversity awareness and appreciation for the arts. We help expose students to STEM through internships, apprenticeships, mentorships, field trips, specialized programming and enrichment, and by continually bringing our specialists into classrooms to inspire and mentor students.

This helps ensure that all children will acquire the skills, knowledge base, educational preparation and motivation required to succeed in an increasingly technological world.

At Mayo Clinic we actively reach out to emerging business in our community. Our Supplier Diversity Initiative is a collaborative effort to provide business level opportunities, certification assistance and education to small and diverse area suppliers who seek access to the southeastern Minnesota economy and business community. Mayo Clinic works to provide small businesses, minority, women, and veteran-owned enterprises better access to opportunities in the local economy.

Mayo Clinic helped create and offers ongoing support to the Salvation Army's Good Samaritan Health Clinic, which provides free and reduced-cost health care to community members without health insurance or who cannot otherwise afford care. The clinic is staffed by volunteer doctors, dentists, pharmacists, nurses and other medical professionals from the community. Last year, the Good Samaritan Health Clinic served more than 3,000 people.